Pigcote

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small building or enclosure where pigs are kept and sheltered from the weather
2. A simple shed or pen built to house and protect domestic pigs on a farm
3. An outbuilding or fenced shelter that provides living quarters for pigs

Etymology: A pigcote is a small shelter or enclosure for pigs, built on the same pattern as the older dovecote, which housed pigeons. The second half of the compound, "cote," is an old English word for a simple shelter, and it appears in other compounds such as sheepcote and dovecote. Its root sense is a small, roofed dwelling. That same root gives English "cot," meaning a small bed or a simple cabin, and "cottage," a small house. So a pigcote is, at heart, a little house for pigs, sharing its ancestry with the word for the humble dwellings of working people. The "pig" part is the plain Germanic word for the animal, and the compound simply joins the two to name a structure built for them.